Writing

Writing Progressions for Assessment

Foundation Level § Text is very short. § Sentences are simple. § Sentences show repetition of learned structures.. § Range of errors. § Most words are high frequency and few topic specific words. § Letter formation is often undeveloped. § First language is used at times.

Stage 1 § Texts are longer (at least 6–8 sentences). § Ideas show organisation of sequencing. § Compound sentences are becoming evident (using linking words). § A range of errors is still evident. § Phonemic awareness is shown with unfamiliar vocabulary. § Some awareness of additional punctuation features and control over full stop is shown. § Literal translation from first language is sometimes used. § Pronouns are used with limited noun/pronoun agreement eg Yesterday my family…….. We…….. § Present simple and continuous are correctly used with some consistency. § Simple past tense is used with some consistency. § Some irregular past tense verbs are used eg went , sent, brought. § Script is generally readable.

Stage 2 § Paragraphs are used appropriately. § Text is linked although may still be simple. Common conjunctions are used. § Sentences may feature a range of different sentence beginnings, relative clauses, § Strong personal voice using choice of vocabulary is used. § Modal verbs may be used(Can, might, should, etc..) § Some topic specific vocabulary is used. § Text may show over use of a learned structure. § Editing is present. § Contractions are used appropriately. § Pronouns are used with some noun/pronoun agreement. § Some simple comparative phrases are used eg the same as, bigger than. § There is…, It is…. is used to introduce. § BE and HAVE verbs used correctly. § Script is controlled and legible.

Stage 3 § Topics are sustained and organised logically and coherently in stages. § Ideas are linked with appropriate use of a range of connectives (e.g., “however”, “therefore”). § Text may follow a model closely. § Varied and complex sentences are used. § Structural errors seen occasionally, such as inaccurate use of articles or lack of subject–verb agreement. § Words are chosen from an expanding bank of general, technical, and academic vocabulary in a range of curriculum and topic areas. § Editing is self-directed, accurate and independent. § Relative pronouns / clauses are used correctly where appropriate. § Direct or indirect speech are used appropriately in context. § A range of negatives are used, eg can’t, could not. § Appropriate tense is maintained throughout a text. § Correct tenses are used with reasonable consistency.

YEAR 5-6 DRAFT WRITING PROGRESSION


- Year 5 and 6 students both use this progression. Independence in these skills and attitudes and text complexity are expected to grow over these two years.

- Writing increasingly becomes integrated with other curriculum areas as well as being part of the literacy instructional programme.


I am learning to:

Preparation
Understand the purpose and audience for my writing.
Plan (if necessary) in a variety of ways.

Writing
Choose relevant ideas and information to include.
Add details or comments.
Use different types of writing correctly e.g. narrative, report.
Use language to suit the purpose and type of writing and engage my audience.
Use paragraphs to organise my writing.
Write different types and lengths of sentences.

Editing
Independently revise and edit.
Rewrite to meet purpose and audience needs.
Use correct spelling and punctuation most of the time.

Attitude
Write by myself with little or no help.
Use writing as a tool in other subjects e.g. Inquiry.




This year (2012) all students have a writing journal. This is a hard back book that will be used to collect all sorts of ideas and prompts for personal, creative writing. My journal contains photos of people and places that are important to me as well as jotted notes about future potential writing activities. I anticipate that each student will attempt to follow suit using a range of material.


We are learning what makes a good recount by making a success criteria.
Recount : Room 3 Criteria 2012

Level	Well Below	Below	At
	No Full stops punctuation Capitals are sometimes used	Full stops and capitals are used.	Correct Punctuation Commas Speech Marks , semi colons used.
	Confusing Not completed. Shopping list of events,	Some events in order Writer uses verbs and adjectives to make their story interesting. Recount is completed Some sentences describes feelings .	Recount makes sense All events are in order Interesting words (Verbs adjectives) are used. Recount completed Recounting has a beginning, middle and end Time words used: first after later next (adverbs) What how when where who and why are answered in the recount. Feeling words are used.
	My next learning step

I am learning to write a variety of recounts for an audience.
-Diary
-Retell
-Auto biography
-Biography
-Police Report
-Letter
-Newspaper Report
-Personal/Factual
-Imaginative




YEAR 3 DRAFT WRITING PROGRESSION

I am learning to:	Self	Teacher
PREPARATION
Talk about ideas for my writing
Plan and organise my writing e.g. using mindmaps
Use my plan to create a piece of writing
WRITING
Know who I am writing for when I choose words and ideas
Choose ideas that get the message across to my audience
Choose the right words to get my message across
Make use of spelling aids e.g. dictionary, lists
Write different sentence types, lengths and beginnings
EDITING
Edit to improve the message in my writing
Proof read my writing to check it is correct
ATTITUDE
§ Write by myself with little or no help

YEAR 4 DRAFT WRITING PROGRESSION

I am learning to:	Self	Teacher
PREPARATION
Use (the right) tools to help plan my writing
Know my audience and purpose
WRITING
Write to support my learning in different learning areas
Write to communicate ideas, information or experiences
Choose if, how and when to publish my work
Use language and formats to suit the writing purpose
Use writing aids e.g. thesaurus, dictionary to expand vocabulary
Choose different ways to get my meaning across
EDITING
Check and fix my own writing
Rewrite to meet purpose and audience needs
ATTITUDE
§ Write by myself with little or no help

Writing in Year Three
In their third year at school, students create texts for instructional writing purposes as well as to meet other learning purposes across the curriculum. They write in order to think about, record, and communicate experiences, ideas, and information.
... English language learners ... are better able to learn oral (and written) English when ... their teacher helps them to notice language items and language patterns ...
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After three years at school, students independently create texts using a process that will help them achieve their specific purpose for writing. Where appropriate, their texts are clearly directed to a particular audience through appropriate choice of content, language, and text form. However, they may often assume that their audience is familiar with the context.
When students at this level create texts, they:

• use planning strategies to organise ideas for writing (e.g., by using lists and mind maps that distinguish main ideas from details) and to generate language for writing;
• create content, mostly relevant, that conveys several experiences, items of information, and/ or ideas relating to the topic or task and that sometimes includes details and/or comment;
• revise and edit their writing for sense and impact and give their peers feedback on their writing;
• proofread their writing to check the spelling, grammar, and punctuation, drawing on their own developing knowledge about words and sentence construction and using classroom resources such as junior dictionaries;
• publish, where appropriate, in a variety of media, depending on their purpose and audience.

They draw on knowledge and skills that include:

• using increasingly specific words and phrases (e.g., adjectives and more precise nouns and verbs) that are appropriate to the content of the text;
• using their visual memory to spell personal vocabulary and high-frequency words (e.g., many words from essential lists 1–4 and some from list 5 and list 61);
• encoding (spelling) unfamiliar words by:
  • using their knowledge of phoneme–grapheme relationships, along with their developing awareness of spelling conventions, to select correct spelling patterns for sounds in words (e.g., spelling the k sound correctly in both catch and kitchen)
  • applying their growing knowledge of useful spelling rules (e.g., the rules relating to adding simple plural suffixes such as those in baby/babies and half/halves) and their growing knowledge of morphology (e.g., adding a d to hear to make heard)
  • applying their expanding knowledge of graphemes (e.g., of graphemes such as or, awe, oar, and oor, which record similar sounds) to write words correctly;
• using simple written language features (such as alliteration) and visual language features (such as labelled diagrams) to support meaning;
• writing all upper-case and lower-case letters correctly, legibly, and fluently;
• using a basic text structure to organise their text effectively for its purpose (e.g., a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end);
• using both simple and compound sentences that vary in their beginnings and lengths (and in the simple conjunctions used) and that are usually grammatically correct;
• attempting to write complex sentences;
• constructing sentences in which the tenses are mostly consistent;
• using capital letters, full stops, question marks, and exclamation marks correctly.

Writing Standards Illustrations: Illustrations of students' texts provide a snapshot of the skills and strategies the students have used to meet the writing demands of the curriculum can be viewed here. These illustrations are examples that show how the student is meeting the writing standards through a curriculum task.
View the high resolution illustrations that demonstrate the literacy demands of the texts and tasks students will be engaging with at this level.
· 1. These lists are in Croft (1998). They are examples only, and teachers may refer to other reputable lists of high-frequency words.

Writing in Year Four

The writing standard

By the end of year 4, students will create texts in order to meet the writing demands of the New Zealand Curriculum at level 2. Students will use their writing to think about, record, and communicate experiences, ideas, and information to meet specific learning purposes across the curriculum.

Key characteristics of students' writing at this level

Students will write for a range of different purposes to meet the specific demands of the curriculum at this level, using a process appropriate to the task and drawing on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will help them achieve their purpose. The knowledge, skills, and attitudes expected at this level, including those needed for spelling and punctuation, are described in the Literacy Learning Progressions.
Students will independently write texts, using language and a simple text structure that suit their audience and purpose (for example, when recounting, describing, narrating, reporting, or explaining). These texts will include, when appropriate:

• content that is mostly relevant to the curriculum task, covers a range of ideas, experiences, or items of information, and often includes detail and/or comment supporting the main points
• mainly simple and compound sentences that vary in their beginnings,structures, and lengths and are mostly correct grammatically
• attempts at complex sentences
• words and phrases, in particular, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, that clearly convey ideas, experiences, or information.

Illustrating the writing standard

Writing standard end of year 4.

Click to enlarge

By the end of year 4, students are required to create a variety of texts in order to think about, record, and communicate experiences, ideas, and information across the curriculum. To meet the standard, students draw on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for writing described in the Literacy Learning Progressions for students at this level.
As part of their learning in English, the students in this year 4 class are writing to form and express ideas based on a significant personal experience. Each student is writing a recount of a scary experience that they think will interest and engage their audience.
This example illustrates aspects of the task and text and demonstrates how a student engages with both task and text to meet the writing demands of the curriculum. A number of such examples would be used to inform the overall teacher judgment for this student.